Chapter 3 - Cyrus

I still remember the day, the day when it all started.

They say the realm of earth contains valuable power, that the moon shines with all its strength. All year around in the Heavens Kingdom can be a burden. So on every night of the full moon, us Celestial Maidens descent to Earth and bathe in its Spiritual Hot Springs. It is not always clear why but those who do return with great energy and high spirits.

I always loved it. The refreshing, clear, water under the brightest moon clears my mind. Earth is so different. It's covered with green vegetation and creatures, which of those is forbidden in the Heaven. A part of me always wondered what it was like to live here. But contact with beings from other realms is also forbidden.

I met him that night, staring at me from beyond the trees. A being, so strange, his features like none other I saw before. I waited until he went away and continued bathing. The cloudiness in my mind cleared, I saw so clearly now. When I went to gather my clothes and retreat back to the Heavens, it was not there. A rush of fear fell upon me as I watch the others return up into the sky and begin to disappear. We must return before the full moon is gone. My robes contain the power to levitate. Without them I cannot leave. So I sat there, feeling so helpless.

Then he appeared, carrying clothing, but not mine. I refused to look at him and stayed in the water, remembering the forbidden laws. But before I knew it, he had entered the spring. I felt a soft touch on my lips followed by hands gently clutching my shoulders. I had heard about this. The realm of Earth calls it a kiss, possibly a signature of love. My heart panicked for I didn't know what to do. Everything was so strange. Drops of sweat fell from my forehead. The heat was beginning to become unbearable. The sun was raising and I had made my decision. I slid on the cloths that he offered me and allowed myself to be carried by him. Yet I didn't dare open my eyes.

For the next few days my eyes weren't ever more open to the world around me. Omen, was his name, showed me life on earth. We frolicked through the meadows, swam in the deepest lakes, and watched the swans fly past. Omen said they immigrate south for the winter presumably to a warmer place. I wondered if I could immigrate down to earth for a better life. When the snowdrops fell from the sky, I had never seen such amazing sights. There was so much to discover and so much to learn. With each passing day I felt heavier, earthbound, but happier at the same time. Is this what love for someone, for a place, feels like?

Omen returned my robes. I knew that I had to make a decision fast otherwise I may never return to the Heavens, but my choice was clear. I spent one last night with Omen, on earth, before ascending back to the Heavens to announce my intentions.

I was going to stay on Earth, with Omen and take him as a husband. I love him and earth and he loves me, I know I can be happy. But as soon as the God of the Heavens received word, he was furious. For nights the Heavens shook with violence and the pure light had turning dark and musty. He forbade me from Heaven. Then he slaughtered Omen, right in from of my eyes. There was nothing I could do or say. I had broken the Celestial Law. I could no longer return to Heaven. I promised myself i would no longer love. Is this the fate of all earthlings?

This is why I'm earthbound. This is why I'm waiting for the Moon to vanish from the skies. My power will disappear and I will die here, on earth, with my love. Omen.